Groceries
by Aiko Yamarashi
Summary: When Levy is encouraged to seize the moment, she takes off running. Somehow, she manages to trip on all of the hurdles on the way to the finish line. And she thought Gajeel was the reason things were moving slowly.
Title: Groceries

Genre: Romance/Humor

Rating: T

Paring: Gajevy/GaLe

Summary: When Levy is encouraged to seize the moment, she takes off running. Somehow, she manages to trip on all of the hurdles on the way to the finish line. And she thought Gajeel was the reason things were moving slowly.

Notes: This was requested by seilahtheshipper on Tumblr, I believe! A Gajevy grocery store AU. I just took it and kinda ran with it! Hope you like it!

* * *

"What do you mean you haven't kissed him yet?!" Cana exclaimed, nearly choking on her alcohol of choice.

"You guys have been dating for like a month!" Lucy chimed in.

"Is there something wrong with Gajeel-kun?" Juvia asked lowly.

"No, no!" Levy threw her hands up in defense. "Gajeel is awesome! I just… I don't know where we stand I guess. He never actually asked me out or anything. We just kind of hang out."

"But you like him, don't you?" Erza asked, taking a sip of her drink. (Why Levy always met up with her friends at a bar, she would never know. Maybe because Mirajane worked there?)

"Of course I like him!" Levy exclaimed. "A-And I think he likes me."

"Gajeel-kun has never showed as much emotion for another female as he does with Levy-chan," Juvia confirmed.

"So what's the deal?" Cana asked, close to her tipsy limit. "If it were me, we'd be f—"

"Cana!" Everyone exclaimed, effectively silencing the brunette.

"It's perfectly acceptable to be unsure of your relationship and take things slow," Erza said, resting a comforting hand on Levy's shoulder. "Jellal and I were like that for as long as I can remember."

"That's because Jellal kept disappearing," Levy mumbled into her glass.

"Aren't you even a little bit curious about wanting to step up your relationship?" Lucy asked.

"Well, yeah," Levy answered. "It just never feels like the right time to bring anything up or make a move."

"You've just got to go for it," Cana slurred. "The right moment arises when you make it."

"Cana does have a point," Erza agreed. "You are more than capable of making something happen."

"I guess," Levy sighed. "If I don't have a heart attack first…"

"Now, now, girls," Lucy called for everyone's attention. "Let's remember why we all came together today."

"Besides to torture me with questions about my relationship status?" Levy asked.

"Besides that," Lucy said with a wink. "We're here to celebrate the fact that Gray and Juvia just settled the deal on their first house!"

All of the girls cheered together while Juvia blushed.

"Juvia would like to thank everyone for throwing this celebration!" Juvia said.

"To Gray and Juvia!" Erza toasted, raising her glass.

All of the other girls chimed in and clinked there glasses together. Life was good.

XxX

Scratch that. Life sucked.

"Wait, you did what?" Lucy asked on the other end of the phone.

"Well, Gajeel came over to play _Scrabble_ , even though he hates it, because he knows it's my favorite game," Levy explained.

"Yeah, yeah, I got that part," Lucy said. "I meant after that."

"He made a really good word and got a whole bunch of points, and I wanted to celebrate his efforts because he was so proud, so I thought about what you guys said about seizing the moment and everything."

"You kissed him?!"

"Almost…"

"What do you mean _almost_?"

Levy facepalmed, recalling the incident. "I leaned in to kiss him over my little coffee table, and I guess I truly underestimated the size of my chest, so I ended up bumping his cup of hot tea, and it spilled all over his lap and the game went sliding everywhere, and it turned into this huge mess!"

"You did not!" Lucy exclaimed. "What happened next?"

"I told him I was sorry like five million times and ran to get a towel to clean everything up, and when I came back I was so frantic that I sort of…"

"Please tell me you did not start wiping his lap for him," Lucy said slowly.

"Lu-chan I'm so embarrassed!"

"Levy! You can't even kiss him, but you have the nerve to get that close to his junk?!"

"Don't say that! It's not something extremely easy to remember!" Levy buried her face in her pillow, letting out a small whine.

"Well, what happened after that?" Lucy asked.

"I got super flustered after I realized I was doing that I basically kicked him out," Levy said quietly, embarrassment never faltering. "And he didn't say _anything_ the whole time!"

"…I am so sorry, Levy-chan."

"What do I do?!" Levy whined to her best friend. "I can't bounce back from that! I'm going to be the lonely cat lady!"

"You are not!" Lucy snapped. "I'm sure he thought somewhere in his mind that you were super cute when you were flustered and just didn't know what to say because you were freaking out and his crotch was burning."

"LU-CHAN!"

Lucy laughed. "Just call him in a little bit to apologize calmly and explain what happened."

"What am I supposed to say?" Levy asked, springing up. "'Sorry I poured scalding tea in your lap and tried to get to third base. I was trying to kiss you and failed miserably.'"

"Maybe different words," Lucy suggested.

"Gee, thanks, Lu-chan."

"Love ya! I believe in you!"

Then the line went dead.

xXx

Levy stared at her feet as she walked with Gajeel back to her apartment, the tall man's shadow casting over her. She focused on the scuff on the toe of her black flats, trying not to think about the embarrassing event from the night before. She picked at the hem of her skirt before deciding to speak.

"I'm really sorry about last night," Levy mumbled.

She wasn't sure if he'd heard her until he said, "I already told you: it's no big deal, shorty."

"I know, but I'm still sorry." Silence followed, so Levy continued, "Thanks for carrying my books for me, Gajeel."

"Must you always go book shopping?"

"I only go when I run out of things to read! I should be set for a while now."

"Lev, your whole apartment is covered in books; they're practically your wallpaper."

"They are not!" Levy giggled. "You should read some!"

"I've tried reading one of your books, remember?" he asked, cocking an eyebrow while looking down at her. "I fell asleep on your couch, and you rolled me onto the floor to wake me up and tell me to go home."

Levy giggled, but slowly stopped when she realized he wasn't laughing. "Sorry about that."

"Stop apologizing, shorty."

Levy went back to nervously fingering the hem of her skirt. "You know, maybe you can stay over every now and again."

"What?"

"But only if you want to!" Levy practically shouted, startling Gajeel. "It's not like I'm going to tie you to the bed and force you to stay."

Gajeel cocked an eyebrow, smirking.

Levy's eyes widened. "Gah! Not that way! Stupid Gajeel! I meant I'm not going to force you to stay!"

Gajeel's look did not falter.

Levy continued to sputter. "But nothing like that is going to happen if you _do_ stay!"

Gajeel shook his head and chuckled, ruffling Levy's hair. "It's funny watching you squirm."

Levy stopped to fix her hair and then stomped after him. "Gajeel! It's not funny!"

They paused at Levy's apartment door while she fished for her keys.

"So do you want me to stay?" Gajeel asked.

"W-Well, you don't have anything packed," Levy fumbled, nearly dropping her keys.

"It's just one night," Gajeel shrugged. "I think I can manage."

"But what about a toothbrush?"

"Don't you have, like, a whole pack or something? I'll just borrow one."

"Clothes?"

"I can wear these. No big deal."

"But isn't that like the 'walk of shame' or something?"

"I prefer to call it the 'stride of pride'."

Levy struggled to fit her key into the door and unlock it, flinging the door open and shuffling in, shutting it behind Gajeel.

"I'm sorry, I didn't have time to clean," Levy told him as she started shuffling books aside and clearing off her couch. "The couch may be a tight squeeze."

"You want me to sleep on the couch?" Gajeel asked, setting her bag of books on the table.

"Yeah, where else would you—oh…"

Gajeel chuckled, shaking his head. "The couch is just fine, shorty."

"I mean, if you want to…"

Gajeel grabbed onto Levy's shoulders, shaking her gently until she locked her gaze with his. "The couch is fine, shorty."

xXx

"He stayed over, and you made him sleep on the _couch_?" Lucy asked on the other end of the phone. "Levy-chan!"

"I was nervous!" Levy exclaimed, hiding her eyes behind her hand. "He seemed totally fine with it."

"Of course!" Lucy said. "He wants you to be comfortable. Still no kiss?"

"I made him sleep on the couch, Lu-chan. Of course no kiss."

"This is all new to you. You'll get the hang of it eventually. I know you will."

XxX

"Do you think I need bread?" Levy asked, gazing longingly at the loaves of bread before her, reaching out to feel them through the packaging.

"I don't know," Gajeel said, sounding bored. "You know what you need better than I do."

"I'm getting bread."

"Okay."

"Will you eat it?"

"I eat pretty much everything."

Levy giggled, gently placing the loaf of bread in their cart. "So, I was thinking, if you're going to be staying over, maybe I should give you a key."

"A key?" Gajeel asked, reading a jar that he grabbed off of the shelf next to him.

"Do you not want one?"

"That's fine. It just means I don't have to wait for you to get to a stopping point in your book before you answer your door."

"Well then, I guess I'll just have to find one."

"Alright, shorty," Gajeel said, slamming the jar back onto the shelf and effectively startling the bluenette. "You've been acting really weird lately. What's up?"

"N-Nothing is up!" Levy said, twirling her hair nervously. "I'm just being myself!"

"That's true," Gajeel said, shrugging. "But you've got a new flavor of weird going on."

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Levy said, turning on her heel and continuing to browse. "I think milk is next."

Gajeel pushed their shopping cart in front of the small, escaping figure, and then trapped her against it.

"Tell me what's going on, Lev."

"Gajeel, I told you—"

"Something's up, and I want to know what's going on in that messy little blue head of yours." He towered over her, red eyes intensely staring down at her small frame.

"I just…" Levy averted her eyes the best she could. It was hard not to catch a glimpse of him when he was practically surrounding her. "Gajeel, are we dating?"

"We go on dates, yeah," Gajeel said, shrugging. "Did you think I was using you or something?"

"No!" Levy answered quickly, snapping her eyes back to his. "No, no! I was just wondering if you liked how things were moving along."

"Moving along, huh?" he asked, cocking a pierced brow. "Too slow, you think? The other day you wanted to tie me to your bed."

"That was a poor choice—"

"And a time before that, you seemed pretty intent on stroking my lap," he added, smirking.

"I was just trying to clean you off!"

"What were you trying to do before that, Levy?"

Her face was on fire. "You had something—"

"Did you want a kiss?" he asked nonchalantly, all evidence of joking vanishing from his face.

Levy choked. "K-Kiss? What made you think—"

Gajeel cut her off by gently pressing his lips to hers. It was quick and rough, gone before Levy could get used to the feeling. His lips were softer than she imagined, but had the same rough quality she thought they would. Some of his hair got in her face, but that somehow didn't ruin the moment.

"Is that what you wanted?" Gajeel asked. Levy could see pink tinting his cheeks.

"That was nice," Levy said, plucking at the ends of her hair. "I wouldn't mind that more often."

"Sure," Gajeel mumbled and cleared his throat. "Milk next?"

"Milk next," Levy giggled. "But, I still can't move, Gajeel."

"Right." Gajeel nodded, but still didn't move.

As soon as Levy locked eyes with him again, he swooped down and captured her lips again, memorizing the sweet taste and smoothness that came with them. Levy tangled her hands in his raven locks, pushing his hair away from his face and deepening their kiss.

They sprang apart when they heard a shopping cart turn down the aisle they were on, both panting from the kiss and startle.

"Milk then?" Gajeel asked once they both regained some oxygen.

"Milk," Levy confirmed.

Gajeel grabbed their cart and turned it around, freeing the bluenette in between. As soon as she began walking, however, Gajeel caught her by the wrist, dragging her back to him. He placed her hands on the cart and placed his outside of hers, trapping her once again between his solid figure and the metal cart, and began pushing.

Once they cleared the aisle, Gajeel leaned down and whispered in her ear, "You know, I wouldn't mind if you actually did tie me to the bed."

Levy shivered. "Stupid Gajeel!"

"You can't escape," he chuckled, kissing her cheek. "I've got you right where I want you."

That was exactly the way Levy always wanted it. She didn't have to seize the moment when Gajeel did it for her.


End file.
